🗺️ Trip Details
🔥 Stove & Canister
🌡️ Conditions
🥘 Cooking Style
How to Use This Calculator
Fill in your trip details, stove, conditions, and cooking style — then click Calculate. Results update instantly and show total fuel needed, number of canisters (including use of any partial canister you're bringing), and a per-day breakdown.
- Trip Details: Enter days, group size, and how much safety buffer you'd like (20% is standard for 3-season).
- Stove & Canister: Select your stove type (affects efficiency) and the canister size you plan to carry. If you have a partially used canister, weigh it and subtract the empty weight (printed on the base) to find remaining fuel grams.
- Conditions: Cold temperatures, high altitude, wind, and melting snow all increase consumption. Select the closest match.
- Cooking Style: Boiling water for freeze-dried meals uses far less fuel than simmering. Set each meal slot to "cold/no-cook" to skip it entirely.
When & Why You'd Use This
The classic mistake is either bringing too many canisters (unnecessary weight) or too few (cold meals and no coffee). This is especially critical on routes far from resupply — a 5-day solo trip above treeline in autumn needs a very different fuel plan than a 2-night summer valley camp.
- Planning a GORUCK-style endurance hike with a large group
- Multi-week thru-hike with staggered canister resupply
- Winter mountaineering where snow-melt quadruples fuel needs
- Scout/guide patrol expedition planning for 8–12 people
- Ultralight trips where every gram is counted
Formula & Method
The calculator uses a per-gram-per-meal approach validated by real-world data from REI, MSR/Cascade Designs, and SOTO Outdoors:
- For each meal slot (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and hot drinks, look up the baseline grams per person from measured usage ranges (boil-only: 5–7g; simple cook: 7–12g; elaborate: 12–20g). The calculator uses the midpoint of each range.
- Multiply by group size and trip days to get base fuel (g).
- Apply a condition multiplier = temperature factor × altitude factor × wind factor × snow-melt factor. These are based on published ranges (cold/altitude: +20–50%; wind on open-burner: up to ×3; snow-melt: ×2.5–4).
- Add the safety buffer percentage.
- Subtract any existing partial-canister fuel.
- Divide by canister size and round up to whole canisters.
Sources: MSR/Cascade Designs Fuel Guide · REI Stove Fuel Expert Advice · SOTO Outdoors Fuel Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a 100g isobutane canister last backpacking?
A 100g canister typically lasts 1.5–2 days for a solo backpacker boiling water for freeze-dried meals and hot drinks in mild conditions. At altitude or in cold weather, consumption increases 20–50%, shortening this to roughly 1–1.5 days. An efficient integrated system like a Jetboil Flash can boil roughly 12 litres from a 100g canister in ideal conditions, though real-world yield is lower.
Does altitude affect backpacking stove fuel consumption?
Yes, significantly. The thinner air at altitude reduces canister pressure and the cold temperatures common at elevation further decrease output. Water boils at a lower temperature (around 90°C at 3,000m), which can shorten boil times, but cooking raw food at altitude takes much longer because the boiling point is lower. Overall, cold + altitude together can increase fuel use by 20–50%. Melting snow instead of using liquid water can require 3–4× the baseline fuel amount.
How much fuel does a Jetboil use per meal?
Jetboil integrated systems are highly efficient, using roughly 7–9g to boil 0.5L in ideal conditions. The Jetboil Flash is rated to boil approximately 12 litres per 100g canister in controlled lab tests. In real-world use — accounting for cold, wind, and actual cooking (not just the lab boil) — budget around 8–10g per person per hot meal.
Can I use a partially used fuel canister?
Yes. Weigh the partial canister on a kitchen scale, then subtract the empty canister weight (usually stamped on the base as "empty wt" — typically 90–100g for a standard 230g canister). The result is your remaining fuel in grams. Enter this in the "Partial Canister" field and the calculator automatically credits this fuel before counting how many full canisters you need.
What size fuel canister should I bring backpacking?
The 100g canister is ideal for solo 1–2 day trips or as a top-up. The 230g canister is the most versatile choice for 3–7 day solo trips or 2–3 day group trips. The 450–500g canister suits longer group expeditions. Bringing two smaller canisters rather than one large one hedges against leaks and helps you ration fuel: if you haven't opened the second canister by the midpoint, you know you can cook more generously in the second half.
How many grams of fuel do I need per meal?
For boiling water only (freeze-dried meals, instant oatmeal, coffee): budget 5–7g per person per boil. Simple cooking like pasta, rice, or soup: 7–12g per meal per person. Elaborate meals with simmering or multiple steps: 12–20g per meal per person. Wind and cold can double or triple these figures on exposed camp spots, which is why the condition multiplier matters so much.
Do different stove types use different amounts of fuel?
Yes. Integrated/heat-exchanger systems (Jetboil Flash, MSR Reactor, WindBurner) are most efficient at around 9–11g per litre boiled. Standard canister-top upright burners (PocketRocket, etc.) use around 13–16g per litre in the field. Remote/inverted canister stoves (WindPro, Kovea Spider) fall between these. Wind dramatically affects open-burner stoves — a 5mph wind can triple fuel consumption on a canister-top stove without wind protection.